Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22m

In three days of operations, beginning with an equally tough raid on Bremen on 8th October, 88 B-17s had been shot down, with hundreds of crewmen killed or taken prisoner. Yet worse was to come just days later, when the USAAF returned to Schweinfurt.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22m

The city centre of Münster was severely damaged by the attack, with around 700 civilians being killed, but the cost to the Eighth Air Force had also been high, with 30 bombers lost. Many more were damaged and returned to base with wounded crewmen aboard.
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B-17 ‘Herky Jerky II’ (circled) breaks formation over Holland after suffering battle damage. The aircraft was able to make an emergency landing at Framlingham with the pilot and radio operator wounded. This image, taken at high altitude with a waterlogged landscape visible below, shows a camouflaged B-17 bomber at the top of the frame. Below, another aircraft, circled for clarity, can just be made out as it dives to a lower altitude.
📷 American Air Museum

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22m

Only one, ‘Royal Flush’ piloted by Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal, would return to base, heavily damaged and carrying wounded crewmen. This helped to establish the Group’s reputation of ‘the Bloody 100th’, though in fact two other units would suffer worse total losses over the course of the war.
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Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal ended the war as a Lieutenant Colonel, having flown 52 combat missions and evaded capture twice after being shot down. A lawyer by trade, he took part in the Nuremberg trials in 1946. He’s pictured here in uniform, smiling as he sits for a portrait photograph.
📷 American Air Museum UPL 5424

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22m

Though initial opposition from flak and fighters was light, as the first wave approached the Ruhr, the bombers came under heavy attack from 350 Luftwaffe aircraft. Worst hit was the 100th Bomb Group, which had crossed the coast with 13 B-17s.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22m

Sunday, 10th Oct 1943: the Münster raid. 2 waves of 100 B-17s each were sent to the city, an important railway hub. Unlike previous missions, the briefing made it explicitly clear that the intention was to cause maximum destruction to civilian areas. The aiming point was Münster’s cathedral.
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B-17 bomber ‘S for Sugar’ of the 303rd Bomb Group being worked on by groundcrew on 10th October 1943. Most are attending to the uncowled port inner engine, standing on stepladders. Another man leans nonchalantly on a fuel bowser, one squats on the tarmac looking through a toolbox and another is peering at a trailer attached to a jeep.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

Overnight, London and Liverpool were the primary targets for Luftwaffe attacks. In the capital, though almost all boroughs reported incidents, damage overall was relatively slight. The day had cost the Luftwaffe 5 aircraft, while Fighter Command lost 8 aircraft and 6 pilots.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

Two adults and six children from the same family were killed on the ground at Number 61. The house belonged to 29-year-old Doris Woods, who was with her 9 month old baby. Her mother Elizabeth Wooding was also staying there with Mrs Woods’ five youngest siblings, aged 6 to 18.
📷 kentonline.com
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Row of terraced houses which ends abruptly in a pile of smoking rubble. Firemen are damping down the scene with hoses, while ARP and military personnel are also in attendance.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

There was another tragic incident in Maidstone at 3:55pm, when the 235 Squadron Hurricane of Harold Allgood crashed at Albion Place. He had entered a steep dive at 20,000 feet, again probably due to oxygen failure. Witnesses suggested that he had begun to pull up, but too late.
📷 ©️ bbm.org.uk
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A neatly moustachioed Harold Allgood, smiling and with a twinkle in his eye, poses for a portrait photograph in uniform.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

Sergeant Edward Bayley of 249 Squadron with his daughter Angela. On a routine patrol over the Thames Estuary at 3:45pm, his Hurricane left formation in a vertical dive and plunged into Cooling Marsh. It’s likely that his oxygen supply had failed, as he made no attempt to bale out.
📷 ©️bbm.org.uk
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Edward Bayley pictured in the garden of a house, hands on hips. He’s wearing uniform, but his jacket is unbuttoned as he looks down at a toddler in a pram. The head of another child can be made out in the foreground.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

21 year old F/O John Drummond DFC, later found to have been wounded in the leg and arm, baled out too low following the collision and his parachute failed to open properly. Still alive when reached by a local priest, he was given the last rites before dying in his arms.
📷©️ bbm.org.uk
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John Drummond in uniform, including cap and leather gloves. He’s looking down at a box of matches in his hands and has an unlit cigarette between his lips. This photograph was taken on an airfield when he was serving in Norway in early 1940.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

Two Spitfires of 92 Squadron collided over Tangmere at 8:15am while attacking a Dornier 17. The aircraft of P/O Desmond Williams broke up in the air. It was later discovered that he had been shot in the head by return fire and was probably already dead before the collision.
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📷©️ bbm.org.uk

Desmond Williams in parachute harness and full flying gear, including the oxygen hose which he’s holding in his right hand. Wearing a very serious expression, he’s pictured standing on the right of a Spitfire, behind the wing and below the cockpit.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

Luftwaffe fighters and Jabos, flying at 30,000 feet, again proved difficult to counter. This time, however, few aircraft penetrated as far as London. Hastings, Brighton and Eastbourne were all bombed, with varying degrees of damage.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 27m

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 10th October 1940. Once again, there were frequent showers during the day, but the established pattern of Luftwaffe attacks continued. Some bombers took advantage of the cloud cover to attack targets in the south east.
📷 IWM C 1868
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Seven WAAF operators and airmen at work in the wooden Receiver hut at Ventnor Chain Home RDF station. They’re sitting in a variety of chairs clearly taken from nearby buildings in a cluttered room which incongruously features a rug on the floor as well as some very unsafe-looking wiring. Some are on telephones, some sit at interesting looking pieces of equipment, others are plotting courses on maps. Most are wearing headphones.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1h

He’s rocking that outfit!

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 19h

osamělý vlk!

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 19h

Well yes, the system is technically 70+ years old, but I think it’s a bit unlikely that it was last overhauled in 1955…

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 22h

Good to hear they’re doing well. How are things with you? No, er, exsanguination from unexpected areas, I hope…

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

Sergeant Eric Frith of 92 Squadron baled out of his damaged Spitfire near Ashford at 12:50pm, but was severely burned. He later died in hospital on 17th October.
📷 ©️bbm.org.uk
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Cropped photograph of Eric Frith in uniform. He seems to be holding a dog on his lap, though only a portion of the animal is visible in the image.

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

In total, 10 Luftwaffe aircraft were lost. One of these was the JG 77 Bf 109 of Lt. H. Escherhaus, which force-landed at Vensons Farm, Eastry, at 7:45am. His dinghy had inexplicably inflated in the cockpit, causing him to lose control of the fighter! British losses were 3 aircraft and 5 airmen
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

Overnight, London was again the main focus for Luftwaffe bombers. Among buildings hit were the Royal Courts of Justice and St Paul’s Cathedral. Other places to be bombed included Falmouth, Manchester and Newport.
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High Altar of St Paul’s Cathedral, damaged by falling masonry after a bomb struck the roof of the East End at 6am on 10th October. The photograph shows an ornate religious backdrop, with an image of Jesus on the cross in the centre. The altar itself has been crushed underneath a pile of rubble.
📷 stpauls.co.uk

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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

The towns of Maidstone, Hastings and Canterbury in Kent were all badly hit. One of the airfields attacked that day was Hawkinge, bombed and strafed by six Bf 109s in the early afternoon, though only minor damage was done.
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

Once again, despite the best efforts of Fighter Command, a significant number of Luftwaffe aircraft got through. In London, damage was reported to docks, factories and residential buildings in Finsbury, Shoreditch and West Ham. Casualties were heavy, with 80 people killed and around 300 wounded
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Jamie McTrusty @jamiemctrusty.bsky.social · 1d

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 85: 9th October 1940. Between heavy showers, several formations of Bf 109s crossed the coast, primarily aiming for London. From 11am to 1pm, over 100 fighters and Jabos were involved, then from 2pm another wave of some 150 aircraft appeared.
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Messerschmitt 109 fighter on a French airfield, carrying a single 250kg bomb on an under fuselage rack. A Luftwaffe airman, or possibly the pilot, is checking something in the cockpit.

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Reposted by Jamie McTrusty

Chris Sams @jerijerod14.bsky.social · 1d

This week’s free to read:

On 3 September 1939 the RAF’ first bombing raid was on standby to attack the Kriegsmarine in port on the first day of #ww2, but how did it go?

jerijerod14.substack.com/p/bombing-th...

#history #navalhistory

Bombing the Fleet

The RAF's first bombing sortie of World War Two

jerijerod14.substack.com

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Reposted by Jamie McTrusty

Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 1d

Funeral Invitation, 1688.

Funeral invitations first appeared in the 17th century, and acted as an admission ticket to both the church and the funeral feast. Pallbearers were often assigned a number on the ticket to signify their position in carrying the coffin.

A funeral invitation from April, 1688. It has an ornate black border with various memento mori iconography around it - like skeletons, winged hourglasses, and scythes.

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